Wednesday, December 31, 2014

In case you missed it, here are all of York Muay Thai's highlights for the 2014 year!! Everyone have a safe and amazing New Year. We are closed tonight and tomorrow (31st and 1st), and look forward to seeing you again Friday (the 2nd)!!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

On Dec 21, YMT headed to Young Thailand on Parliament street and had the annual holiday dinner and celebration. Young Thailand is a venue far out of the gym's neighbourhood, but it is also a part of Muay Thai Ontario history. Many years ago, Ajahn Suchart began training some of his first students in the basements of Young Thailand.

We brought ourselves back to the beginning, celebrated all of the moments of the year, and looked confidently towards the future together!

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

The holidays are always the hardest time of year for people who are in need.This year especially, due to the economy, people who are less fortunate are having an especially difficult time making ends meet. Food banks are not experiencing the same level of donations that they usually receive this time of year. York Muay Thai would like to help this situation, so please consider bringing a non-perishable food donation to our Christmas party (please RSVP) which will be donated to a local food bank.

You may also drop the food off at the gym. PC Patrick is organizing.

We are strong and privileged. We are martial artists. We can help those in need.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

As we head into a week focus on defense, here is a Thai legend Poot Lorlek demonstrating the basic foundation behind our study...

Some background behind Poot:

Poot was a Thai boxer with very colorful tactics, and is a real pleasure to watch. Sharp eyes, remarkable agility and speed was his trademark.

All these elements help explain why he was dubbed "The Angel Boxer." It was simply because he was rarely beaten. Out of some 80 matches, he was never knocked out, or even counted down: Poot was the star of his time remaining at its height for seven years from 1970-1977.

His records said it all. Poot once successfully took the Junior Featherweight championship from Samyar Singsorntorn. But he eventually had to relinquish the championship, simply because no one dared to challenge him. Poot was one of those Thai boxers who often encountered opponents heavier than himself. His skills and speed, however, helped him to come out on top always.

Poot eventually had to turn to international boxing because it became hard for him to find a challenger in Thai boxing.

Here are some excellent fights to illustrate some of the points we have been discussing in our last week of classes. When you watch these fights, you will see teeps utilized offensive maneuvers (and some defensive as well, although good offense and defense are essentially two sides of the same coin).

Think about the intention behind each teep being used... to intimidate, to cut off, to set up, to frustrate, to knock out. Each fight will have its own unique context for the teep. Study hard, and don't be afraid to ask questions during or after class to your instructors.

Friday, December 5, 2014

At YMT, our focus is always technique first, power then speed. Strategy/timing is another big focus but it is embedded in our curriculum: how we train our drills and understand our technique. This is one of the reasons why we have a monthly focus: a technique that takes the forefront of our classes each month and gives us a chance to really dive into the details.

We truly believe in strong basics being the path to victory. Function over flash: Simple techniques applied at the right time. In honour of Teep month, here are some clips of our amateur athletes throwing very simple push kicks...but with effective timing.

When we think of timing, we need to ask ourselves what means...what the desired effect is.
A teep is not simply a kick that pushes, nor is it a "front kick." Teeps can create space for another weapon (which means the amount of space created will differ depending on the intended follow up), disrupt an assault, cause intimidation, control the available space in the battlefield, misdirect the opponent's intended strategy...etc etc. In other words, there is always a context. Whenever you watch fights, or even this video of our boys, think about why the technique is being thrown and whether or not it is effective in its use.